My published US patent application US20060154589 (which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein) discloses a coin processing machine of the type having a stationary, circular coin plate 110 as shown in FIG. 2 that receives coins for sorting or verifying. In one embodiment the coin plate is a sorting plate that includes a number of circumferentially spaced slots 112, 114, 116 located at the outer periphery of the plate. The slots are arranged in order of increasing radial width, with the width of the slots related to the diameter, and hence denomination, of the coins to be sorted by the plate.
A stream of coins is fed onto the sorting plate and driven along the outer periphery of the plate in the downstream direction indicated by arrow 117 by a rotating drive disk 118 located above the sorting plate. The coins abut against a wall 120 that extends partially along the outer periphery of the plate. The wall 120 includes an inner abutment surface that extends above the plate that guides and resists outer radial movement of the coins moving along at the outer periphery of the plate. Fingers or other contact members (not shown) extend from the drive disk and engage the coins on the disk and urge the coins to move circumferentially downstream along the sorting plate. As the coins pass over a slot, coins of the denomination associated with slot pass through the slot and are removed from the plate. The larger coins slide over the slot and pass through a downstream slot.
On rare occasions a coin enters on the sorting plate but does not move to the outer periphery of the plate. The drive disk fingers hold the coin radially inwardly of its intended radial location on the plate with respect to the coin slots. The drive disk drives the coin, but the coin is not correctly positioned on the sorting plate to fall through the coin slots. The coin may remain on the sorting plate and be continuously driven by the drive disk without ever falling through a coin slot.
A coin driven on the plate without falling through a coin slot can prematurely wear the plate. The coin may be sensed or counted by coin denomination sensors each time the coin laps the plate, producing an erroneous coin count.
Thus there is a need to prevent coins that are not correctly positioned on the sorting plate to be removed from the sorting plate.